Detroit's Historic Places of Worship

In Detroit's Historic Places of Worship, authors Marla O. Collum, Barbara E. Krueger, and Dorothy Kostuch profile 37 architecturally and historically significant houses of worship that represent 8 denominations and nearly 150 years of history. The authors focus on Detroit's most prolific era of church building, the 1850s to the 1930s, in chapters that are arranged chronologically. Entries begin with each building's founding congregation and trace developments and changes to the present day. Full-color photos by Dirk Bakker bring the interiors and exteriors of these amazing buildings to life, as the authors provide thorough architectural descriptions, pointing out notable carvings, sculptures, stained glass, and other decorative and structural features.

Nearly twenty years in the making, this volume includes many of Detroit's most well known churches, like Sainte Anne in Corktown, the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Boston-Edison, Saint Florian in Hamtramck, Mariners' Church on the riverfront, Saint Mary's in Greektown, and Central United Methodist Church downtown. But the authors also provide glimpses into stunning buildings that are less easily accessible or whose uses have changed-such as the original Temple Beth-El (now the Bonstelle Theater), First Presbyterian Church (now Ecumenical Theological Seminary), and Saint Albertus (now maintained by the Polish American Historical Site Association)-or whose future is uncertain, like Woodward Avenue Presbyterian Church (most recently Abyssinian Interdenominational Center, now closed).

Appendices contain information on hundreds of architects, artisans, and crafts-people involved in the construction of the churches, and a map pinpoints their locations around the city of Detroit. Anyone interested in Detroit's architecture or religious history will be delighted by Detroit's Historic Places of Worship.

Marla O. Collum is grants manager at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC. From 1998 to 2008 she was the historic review officer for the City of Detroit Planning and Development Department and also served on the board of directors of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network for six years during that time. She has an MS in historic preservation from Eastern Michigan University.

Barbara E. Krueger is a graduate (MS) of Eastern Michigan University's historic preservation program. Krueger is a research associate (folk arts) with Michigan State University Museum's Michigan Stained Glass Census, a past president of the Hartland Area Historical Society, and a founding member and board member of the American Glass Guild.

Dorothy Kostuch was a longtime instructor of art history at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit (formerly the Center for Creative Studies), who died in 2005 after a long battle with cancer. Kostuch received a PhD in art history from Columbia University and traveled extensively through Europe to visit architecturally significant buildings. Her expertise in art history and medieval architecture led her to teach a course on historic Detroit churches and spawned the beginnings of this book project.